How Many Trends Can I Fit Into One Wreath?

Instead of pranking you all with a virtual bucket-o-water-above-the-door trick, the joke’s on me today. And I’m letting you in on it!

The name of the game? Trend-Fest 2014

The players? Myself and five of my fab bloggy buddies!

The challenge? To incorporate as many current trends as possible into one craft project without it being too over-the-top. (Though in a way, I feel at a distinct disadvantage as most of my projects end up being over-the-top. Oh well!)

Why are we doing this? The better question is, “Why not?!” I mean, we might be making “April Fools” of ourselves with these trend-laden creations, but life’s too short to take things too seriously, right? Especially when it comes to crafting.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it…. We thought it could be fun to have y’all check out all six projects and vote on your favorite. The winning blogger will be dubbed Queen Trendy and will don a monogrammed crown made of chevron burlap for an entire year. Okay, I made that last part up, but still: that’d be pretty sweet, right?

Incentive? Annnnnd, to thank y’all for voting, we have a prize of April Fool’s Day proportions to giveaway. 6 of them, in fact! Read on to see what they are {she says, trying to muffle her laughter}.

And now, let the tom-foolery commence!

I give to you my “craft trend mash-up,” a Felt Flower Wreath for Spring to Summer!

Trend Count

I’m proud to say that this wreath boasts 11–get that?–11 trends. Update: I’ve been informed in the comments of a 12th, so here’s the revised list:

Tutorial

Step 1: Wrap your wreath form with burlap ribbon. Ahem, chevron burlap ribbon if you want to squeeze an extra trend in there! And you will, I repeat, you WILL need two rolls of 15′ ribbon to complete this project. Don’t just buy one roll like I did and then run out 2/3 of the way around the wreath form and have to make an extra trip to Hobby Lobby in the 15 minutes before they close on Saturday night. {Slaps hand to forehead.} Do bring a coupon (or download the Hobby Lobby app., which always has a 40% off coupon locked and loaded).

To secure the ribbon to the wreath form, I just used a few dabs of hot glue at the beginning and end.

Step 2. Create your rolled felt flowers. Lots of them. Plug in the glue gun and park yourself on the couch for several hours to catch up on Under the Gunn and transform your brightly colored felt into gorgeous felt flowers.

Here are the two types of felt flowers I included in my wreath:

Looped Mum Felt Flowers

{Thanks to my Central Florida blogger buddy Keri from Shaken Together for teaching me this method at her Pinterest Party this past weekend!}

Felt Flower Rosettes

Step 3. Create some pom poms! I was determined to work some trenderrific baker’s twine into this project and my answer was in some pom poms! I just used a combination of light blue yarn and pink baker’s twine that I picked up at my local JoAnn’s and went to town.

Did you know that pom pom’s are super easy to make? Check it:

Step 4. Glue your flowers and poms to the wreath! This is the fun part, and I highly recommend laying out your flowers and poms on the wreath prior to gluing them down. Stand back, squint your eyes, and come up with a configuration that pleases you most! Then, secure the flowers and poms to the wreath using hot glue.

Step 5. Add a wood slice banner. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to incorporate a few more trends with a wood slice banner painted with none other than chalkboard paint! And I have to thank Keri’s Christmas Pinterest Party for the wood slice banner supplies (she picked up the wood slices at a local teacher supply store, but if you have a branch from the backyard you can slice n’ dice yourself, grrrreat!).

After painting the slices with chalkboard paint, I used a very thin wire to attach the wood slices to some jute twine.

Then, I used my Bistro Chalk Markers to write out a “welcome” message, and secured the twine to the wreath using a few dabs of hot glue (affiliate link).

annnnnd…

Here she is on our front door!

A much more season-appropriate wreath to the snowshoes I had hanging up there the day before (eeska!).

I dare say that with a mix of pastels and jewel tones, she will weather the transition between spring and summer quite well! At least, that’s the plan, Stan.

What do you think, dear reader? Did I cross the line from “just right” into “too much” territory with all these trends? Or was I able to keep it somewhat tasteful?

An April Fool’s Giveaway

Now…in a moment you’re going to get to check out all the “trendy projects” in Trend Fest 2014 and vote on your favorite. But first, I’ve gotta tell you about this April Fool’s Giveaway.

By casting your vote in the form below, you’ll also enter yourself into a giveaway to win…wait for it…6 trendy pencils my blogger buddies and I crafted! It’s the perfect prize for an April Fool’s Giveaway, don’t you agree? (Though as a teacher, I heart school supplies, and 6 decorated pencils would be like gold to me!)

Here’s my “trendy pencil,” decorated with chalkboard paint and neon chalk markers! A bit of a nod to the 1980s….

Voting Time

Now, I’d love for you to take some time to explore the different crafts my blogger buddies created for Trend Fest 2014. And then, from any of our blogs, you can use the form below to cast your vote and enter the giveaway. I want you to be honest and vote for whichever “trendy” craft you like best! Even if it’s not my wreath. Because:

A) I’ll never know.
B) I’d be thrilled for any of these girls to claim the title of Queen Trendy. Honestly.

Related

Lovely comments so far...

Ok, the number of trend elements you were able to include in this is seriously impressive. And it doesn’t look even a bit silly! It’s so cheerful and fun! I think my favorite flowers are the pom poms. Way to squeeze in yet another trend in there by adding the baker’s twine!

Amazing! I love the colors! You could of totally including Radiant Orchid like Kristy said!!! This wreath just makes me happy and excited for spring!! Well done! I also love the chalkboard painted pencil! Amazing!

Pretty sure this is the cutest competition I’ve ever seen! What a fun idea and such cute projects!! The wreath….AMAZING!! The wood slice banner with chalkboard paint sealed the deal for me….I was giggling and oohing and aahing all at the same time! May you wear that chevron-burlap-monogrammed crown with pride, sister! 😉

You packed an impressive number of trends into this wreath, and it is seriously super cute!! Also, I think you ladies need to seriously consider making a winner’s crown and making this an annual event! Love it 🙂

Oh Lauren!!! Woweeeee!! This wreath is so super cute and I love all the trends you have included. You have seriously knocked the ball out of the park with this, I love the other entries but my golly gosh you have excelled yourself! I would hang this on my door unashamedly all through the spring and summer and I am pretty sure it would brighten up Autumn and Winter too 🙂
I love how your blog posts make me grin like a silly hen 😀

This is awesome! I’m totally amazed at your ability to incorporate so many trends and still make it look gorgeous! Love! And what a perfect April Fool’s Day project– you ladies rock! Have a great week, my friend!

Just the right amount of over the top! I’m amazed you made that many felt flowers. I had planned on a plethora for my last wreath but somehow it ended up with a grand total of 6 flowers. Well done, Lauren!

I LUH-VE this wreath. This might be my favorite you’ve done so far. The bright and many flowers, in addition to the banner just make it extra special! The pom poms are so fun with the multi-colored yarn, and they remind me of the book banner you made for me! Sorry I missed the chance to cast my vote, but I would’ve voted for you…amazing how you combined so many trends into one project! So…who one Queen Trendy?

Well, that’s funny because I LUH-VE you, Lisbeth, and your incredible barrage of comment love this spring break week. It has been like Christmas these past few days, unwrapping each one and savoring your sweet-sweet words. Thank you for dedicating some of your precious time off to read these posts and shower me (and my readers) with so much love.

Yes, I believe my first pom pom foray was with your awesome book page banner! #sistersummercamp2013

I’m actually just going for the chalkboard look with this wreath, so I don’t plan on erasing them. But I have found that in general, the markers are harder to erase than regular chalk. Still, I just love how easy they are to write with. If I discover any magical ways to erase them, I’ll let you know!

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I’m a New York gal putting down new roots in Orlando, Florida with my hubby and our sailboat. My heart skips a beat for all things creative, be it crafting, upcycling, sewing, journaling…especially blogging. If I can make you smile or ignite in you a spark of inspiration, then my job is done here. Won’t you grab a cup of chai, a comfy blanket, and stay a while? {read more...}

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